How Well Can You Do These Dynamic Assessment Drills for Balance & Flexibility

When was the last time you truly assessed your body’s ability to move efficiently? If you’re experiencing stiffness, instability, or a decrease in flexibility, it may be time to incorporate Dynamic Assessment Drills into your fitness routine.

What Are Dynamic Assessment Drills?

Dynamic Assessment Drills are movement-based evaluations that help identify imbalances, weaknesses, and areas needing improvement. Unlike traditional static assessments, which focus on stationary positions, dynamic drills assess how your body moves through space—giving a more accurate picture of your mobility, strength, and coordination. On several of these drills you would be taking a step forward barefoot and alternating sides. These are a few drills I do before I do most any exercise.

These drills can reveal:

• Limited range of motion that could lead to injuries
• Muscle imbalances causing pain or poor posture
• Stability issues that may be affecting daily activities or athletic performance

In our traditional functional movement assessments the movements below are not a part of but when we get into the personal training sessions we can use these assessments to gain additional information. By pinpointing these areas and seeing if you “leak” into a certain plan due to weakness or instability, we can create a customized plan to improve movement efficiency, reduce discomfort, and enhance flexibility—helping you regain control of your body and prevent future injuries.

Key Dynamic Assessment Drills

Here are some essential drills to evaluate and improve your movement:

Key points:

Sagital plane is an imaginary line that divides your body vertically into left and right sides. Mostly forward or backward movements and up and down (walking, running, cycling, squats, lunges, push, pull, flexion, extension, dorsiflexion/toe up, plantar flexion/toe down). This is the most common plane of movement.
Frontal plane is also called the coronal plane and divides the body into back and front half. Side lunges, lateral shuffles, arm circles (forward and backward), hip abduction (side leg raises), side planks, jumping jacks.

Some exercises involve multi-planar movements like squats. Of course twisting the spine is super important as well but this blog post does not cover that.

Try these both moving across the floor as well as stationary. Maybe do 5 reps of each or pick the ones you are the worst performing and get better.

Knee to chest 1 leg balance – Sagittal plane
How far does YOUR knee come up to your chest? Can you balance on the other leg whilst tucking the butt into a posterior tilt. A trained eye and see what’s going on.

1 leg foot hold for quad test with other arm up – Sagittal plane
Can you even grab your foot? Can you balance on one leg and keep your other arm straight up in the air? When and if you do grab your foot is your knee way out to the side as it should be close to the other leg. That hip flexor is tight if you are struggling.

Lunge low 2 inches off ground hold – Glute assessment, stability
Can you tuck your toe under and have heel facing straight towards the sky? Can you tuck your pelvis and have a 90 degree angle with both legs whilst holding the back knee a mere 2 inches of the floor for 45-60 seconds? If not, then maybe this drill becomes the exercise and you hold onto something to help with balance until you get there.

Monster 1 leg swing – Balance, pelvis, sagittal plane
Can you do this without falling over or overly rounding your upper body forward. Can you touch the toe with a straight leg? How’s that foot on the floor doing with balance? Wobbly? Are you using your big toes for balance and pushing the hips back into a hip hinge?

1 leg toe up hip hinge swipe – Sagittal plane
This one is tricky for a lot of you. Is your front leg straight and toe up? Are you leaning back at the hips (hip hinge)? Are you keeping your back flat?

Side lunge – Hip mobility, glutes, frontal plane
This is a tough one for a lot of people. If you were to look at the movement from the side you would be able to see that my glute on the bent leg should be able to aim for a chair or bench. I can go down farther when holding a weight. You can see when I go to the right it’s not as good as to the left. How well can you do this? Feet forward and knees do not go over the toes. Pull your hips back…yes I’m going to say HIP HINGE again!

Figure 8 one leg cross leg balance – Glutes, hips, and balance stability
I should should additionally taking a picture where I am facing camera but as you can see you want to have good alignment as the ankle is crossed over the other knee. Can you hold this without falling over? Can you tuck your butt under?

Lunge low back leg back far – Tight hip flexor, stability
This lunge is a little different as that back leg is about 45 degrees and you are trying to see how well you can be low and stretch that back leg hip flexor. You can really tell a difference when you take several steps as to which one may be tighter.

Why It Matters for Your Health & Fitness

If you want to stay active and injury-free, proper movement patterns are essential. Over time, repetitive motions, prolonged sitting, or past injuries can lead to compensations that throw off your body’s alignment. Dynamic Assessment Drills bring awareness to these problem areas, allowing for targeted corrective exercises that restore balance and function.

At Energy Fitness, we specialize in identifying movement deficiencies and tailoring programs to help you move better, feel stronger, and improve flexibility. Whether you’re an athlete, recovering from an injury, or just want to move pain-free, our approach ensures that your fitness journey is safe, effective, and sustainable.

Take the First Step Toward Better Movement

Don’t let poor movement patterns hold you back! At Energy Fitness, we offer a free consultation to assess your needs and guide you toward a healthier, more mobile body. Contact us today:

📞 Call us at: 901-466-6242
🌐 Visit our website: energyfitness-sc.com

Your body deserves the best—let’s get moving the right way!